“Bailing Out of a Medieval System”

As Chicago searches for ways to reduce its exploding jail population, it need look no further than neighboring Rockford. Tom  Warkowski, a former Winnebago County Assistant State's Attorney was appointed Jail Population Analyst under a court order by the U.S. District Court of Northern Illinois to r...
March 21, 2013

Reducing Jail Overcrowding in Cook County

The Cook County jail is nearly full again, jumping two seasons ahead of its usual autumn peak. On March 2nd, the Chicago Tribune reported on one reasonable means to reduce the jail population safely and cost-effectively--by tracking defendants on GPS monitors while they await trial. And there are ma...
March 18, 2013

Policy Brief: Community Courts in Cook County

Today we release a two-part policy brief discussing an alternative prosecution strategy called community-based justice. Part I makes the case for community-base justice by comparing Cook County’s current misdemeanor justice system--which adjudicates over 150,000 misdemeanors annually (pdf)--with com...
February 27, 2013

“Services Not Jail”

In a recent column, Rev. Alexander Sharp, who is Executive Director Emeritus for Protestants for the Common Good, calls for a "New Paradigm" for drug policy. The paradigm prioritizes treating the underlying cause of crime--e.g., poverty, homelessness, addiction, or abuse--over jailing the individual...
November 27, 2012